RT - Journal Article T1 - Urban Quality of Life in Iran (1986-2006) JF - Yektaweb_Journals YR - 2010 JO - Yektaweb_Journals VO - 10 IS - 36 UR - http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-931-en.html SP - 121 EP - 148 K1 - Objective index K1 - Urbanism growth K1 - Urban Population of Iran K1 - Urban Quality of Life AB -   Objective: The most obvious character of Iran’s socio-economic changes in recent decades (1966-2006) is urban and urbanite growth. In the year 1966, only 38 percent of Iran’s populations were urbanite. This figure increased with 5.1 mean growth rate to 54 percent until 1986, and so the urban population share proceeded from rural population. For the first time in Iran, more than half of the populations became urbanite. Now, about 70 percent of Iran’s population is urbanite who is living in 1067 urban points. Urban development has been increased so rapidly in this period that limited many existing opportunities for increasing social welfare and upgrading of urban quality of life. Therefore, in current situation in parallel with urbanization of society, one of the most important research necessities is the analyzing of the consequences due to it like assessment of urban quality of life. In this article the impacts of urbanism growth on urban quality of life changes from 1986-2006 has been evaluated. Method: The research method in this article is descriptive-analyzing. In this way, the changes of quality of urban life in 1986-2006 in the base of objective index, first describe by process framework and then analysis with regard to urbanism growth. The indexes which the changes of their share, per capita are assessed consist of housing, sanitation, education, communication, energy and tourism. The basic information is gathered by documentary and library methods from statistical sources and official reports and sometime has been completed by personal recourse to respective organizations. Findings: Under the influences of expedite growth of urbanism in 1986-2006, the indicator urban quality of life in Iran has reduced in many indexes like housing, education, tourism, sanitation and health (sick bed). The number of urban households without house has get from 25 to 29 thousand household and in spite of relative stability in the number of rooms and shrink of space of delling units, the density of person in a room had increased from 0.6 to 0.8. Teacher per capita has been decreased from 16 to 14 teachers per 10,000 person. Also, professor per capita with growth rate of only 0.5 percent in a more unfavorable process has been reached from 0.08 to 0.04 per student. In the case of sickbeds, the same changes can be seen from 27 to 24 beds per 10,000 person. In others indexes sanitation and health, and also communication and energy urban quality of life had been increased. This increase for medical laboratory had shown a growth from 5.8 to 9.4 laboratory per 10,000 person. The number of cell   phones with a 10 increase had been reached from 16 to 3188 cell phone per 10,000 people. The number of housing unit having telephone also has increased from 25 to 85 percent. Besides, from the energy index point of view in 2006, 98 percent of housing unit are accessed to electricity and 85 percent to gas which in comparison to similar index in 1966 shows significant increase. Results: Urban quality of life has been influenced extremely by rapid urbanization. Rapid urbanization has lessened the share and per capita of many indexes or controlled the positive changes and by this has a serious influence on social aspects of urbanization. In this situation, it is necessary in parallel with urban and urbanism development the study of assessment of urban quality of life in national and regional scale are considered continually. In fact, the capacity and rate of urban development in Iran not only should be evaluated by quantity and physical criteria, but also by survey of its influence on urban quality of life. LA eng UL http://refahj.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-931-en.html M3 ER -